Here are a few thoughts on #Mentorship and #MentoringRelationships
Last week I visited the Pentagon for the first time in a long time. While there, I got to see LTG John Morrison. God connected me to this man 30 years ago. Over the past 30 years, I can point to several critical moments in my life where God used LTG Morrison to mentor me through key decisions. Without his mentorship, I most certainly would not be the man I am today.
If you want to be great at anything, you must acknowledge the fact that greatness is too great of a task for one person. You need others. You need others to invest in you. You need people who see things in you when you don’t even see them in yourself.
Here are 4 positions you need to be filled in your life:
1. Coaches (these are people who speak TO you)
2. Mentors (these are people who speak WITH you)
3. Sponsors (these are people who speak FOR you)
4. Models (these are people you may NEVER speak to, but their example impacts your life significantly)
I could share thoughts on all of these. But as to not make this post too long, I will limit my thoughts to mentorship.
Who is a mentor and why do you need one (or several)?
— This is someone you consider to be at a position in life that you aspire to attain.
— You evaluate this person to be worthy of emulation.
— You have a direct relationship with them, and they are willing to invest in you.
— Unlike the coach (who may or may not be fully invested in your personal development), this person agrees to mentor you solely because they want to see you succeed.
— If you are the mentee and have a mentor (you can have them in many areas of your life), please value the investment.
— Make yourself someone worthy of the investment your mentor is making in your life.
— This person is taking their time, talent and experience, and investing it into your success. Don’t make them regret it.
— Make sure you follow-thru (on the homework/assignments they gave you), and then follow-up (so your mentor can know you valued their input enough to put it into action).
— If you open your heart to the mentors God has assigned to you in the multiple areas of your life where He wants to see intentional growth, the impact your mentors will have on you will be life-changing. Just please make sure your mentors know you appreciate the investment.
— HONOR your mentors enough to express your appreciation to them regularly.
Lastly, please take the things that your mentors poured into you and then open your heart to pour those things into others. If you have been mentored well, pay it forward by becoming a mentor to others.
